"Are we there yet?" an annoyed voice pipped up from a bag slung over Roam's shoulders. Retreat had, rather quickly, become too tired to walk herself and being tired of the complaints Fawn had picked her up and put her in one of the big bags that previously held supplies for the trip. Depart was still happily trotting along with them, occasionally stopping to look at bugs or rocks on the road. But even *he* was starting to get annoyed at the other whelp. "Not yet, Retreat! You'll be able to see when we're almost there!" When Fawn and Roam had first talked about their trip, which was meant to be a get-away from their jobs of maintaining the rapidly growing nursery, the whelps had begged relentlessly to come along. At first the other adults in the nursery had persisted in saying no, but eventually Fawn and Roam were charmed by the little one's determination. At the end- neither of them regretted the decision, and Finn seemed more than happy that she didn't have to take care of *all* whelps in the nursery. As they walked along the road like that, they eventually came up to a travelling blue belemoid.

Fawn and Roam offered up introductions, and found out that his name was Blikk. The adults quickly got wrapped in conversation. "Haven't seen you three around here before." to which Fawn nodded "We're from L'hatzif." Retreat pipped up from her makeshift carrier "We live on a hill!" Blikk chuckled at that, amused. "I see! Hills are nice, I've always wanted to live on a hill." Depart excitedly ran up to the stranger hearing that, previously distracted kicking around some rocks to try and find bugs, and excitedly asked the stranger "Where do you live then?" Blikk shrugged "ya know- Just kind of- around." Depart rolled her eyes "That's boring!" while Retreat exclaimed from the bag "Hills are way cooler than 'around'!" Fawn rolled her eyes at the whelps "guys, be nice." while Roam chuckled, looking at Blikk "I'm not sure why a hill is cooler in this scenario, honestly." Blikk laughed it off, "I'm glad they like their home, I suppose." Retreat sighed, dramatically throwing her upper body over Roam's body to be closer to the belemoid. "Hills are cool!" she said, supported by a "Yea! Cool!" from Depart. Fawn rolled her eyes, ruffling the whelps mane before asking Blikk

another question. The small group carried on like that on their journey, the road unfolding before them, winding trough the easier to navigate landscapes of Rekes. Blikk shared some stories about his travels, the whelps listening in wide-eyed wonder, and eventually even Retreat forgot her precious exhaustion and pains from walking, captivated by the stories. The day wore on, with the group eventually deciding to take a break near a calmly flower river stream that cut across their path. The five settled on the grassy bank of the river, enjoying the gentle breeze and quietly exchanging stories over a snack. Depart and Retreat, now somehow even more fascinated, bombarded Blikk with questions about the places he had visited. Blikk didn't seem to mind the rowdy whelps, more than happy to provide the enthusiastic company. During the break, he told the whelps about hills that reached higher than the clouds, pointing out the mountains on the horizon. The whelps were enthralled, and already bragging about telling all of their friends about this encounter. Fawn and Roam exchanged knowing glances, grateful for the unexpected encounter with Blikk and the peace it brought them with the whelps being too distracted to pay much

mind to them and thus giving them some nice alone time while they watched from a distance. Eventually, their break ended, and the small group picked up pace again. Eventually though, the group ran into a fork in the road, and Blikk bumped into Fawn trying to take a right while Fawn tried to take a left. "Oh, ah- seems this is where our journey ends." Blikk said awkwardly, even more so as he listened to the loud complaints of the two whelps, who were clearly less than thrilled of having their newly found friend taken away from them. Fawn smiled at Blikk's awkward realization, her hand gently patting the whelps to calm their protests. "Looks like our journey together ends here," she said. Blikk sighed, a thoughtful expression crossing his features. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you all. Maybe our paths will cross again someday," he said, offering a friendly nod. Depart and Retreat, still pouting, exchanged reluctant goodbyes with Blikk. "You better come visit our hill if you ever find yourself around here!" Retreat declared dramatically. Blikk chuckled to himself "Will do." Roam smiled warmly "I mean, you would always be welcome." Blikk was a bit surprised

at the invitation, albeit a little unofficial, but still kindly nodded at Fawn, Roam and the two whelps, who were still pouting at their caregivers. "Maybe in the future."